Switchboard



oct. 24, 1933.

Q Q i i a rl Q .lH id- ...|n oom 1 2E y 3 |dgl. and H* Mw nenn Lwwool IIINNIH l 1| r IH QUUNH M l m f cowl m m 2:6 |||Nm M gk wu d e QS# l 3S 3k, W. Vg: l o2 ouwe .een come so; nw 3.31, llldul. wnl. 3ST wm \m Q @Nw-Nl' l ww? TRM :d I huw@ .SBS SWW. daguil ,U wwl, BSS n @wml NU l eeuw? gwn l w l.; x Q f, N b m V ,n m C A T TORNEV Patented Oct. 24, 1933 A UNITED 'STATES v1,931,618 SWITCHBOARD Stanley Foushee Nelsonfrookly/n'gN. Y., as.. signor to American Telephone and 'Telegraph Company, a corporation ofNew York f Application March Z', A1933'. Serialv No. 659,397

9 Claims. (C1. 179-91) This invention relates to telephone switchboards and more particularly to multiple switchboards in which telephone lines are terminated at a plu-t rality of positions. Y

.5' An object of the linvention isrto increase the capacity of said switchboards. Y

VAnother object is to terminate a plurality of lines at said switchboards 'in a more economical manner. f

In accordance with the invention the line ap; pearances in a switchboard face are arranged to conform to the eld of operatorsreach.

A feature of the invention consists in the termination of lines in less frequently recurring multiple appearances in the lower part of the 'switchboard face where the operators reachcovers a wider area and in more frequently-recurring appearances in the upper part where'the operators reach covers a narrower area. The invention will be understood from the fol-Y lowing description together with the accompany'- ing drawing in which one embodiment of my invention is illustrated.

The drawing shows the arrangement of tele- 25. phone line multiple appearances in the face of a B or trunk operators multiple switchboard.

The switchboard is 'divided into 'panels here numbered l to 10 inclusive. Only asection of the switchboard is shown in the drawing while in practice it will extend to the right orleft'for as many additional panels as are required to give a suilicient number of line multiple 'appearances to allowprompt and e'icient service' tobe provided at all times by adding operators at the multiple appearances.

An voperators position is provided in front of each group of three panels as at 11, l2 and 13. During heavy traic periods a B operator is seated at each position. During hours of lighter traf- 40 fic several of the positions may be vacant. Each operator has before her a group of cord or trunk circuits terminating in plugs 14.

Each panel includes several groups of 100 lines each. Each group, in the present instance, comprises five strips of twenty line jacks each, as

shown at 15. The number of 100 line groups in each panel depends on the height of the switchboard face which in turn is determined by the practical height of an average operators reach.

The area of a switchboard face within easy reach of an operator is bounded by a curve, such as curve 16 bounding the reach of the operator at position 12. It is seen that operator 12 can reach all lines appearing in any panel from 1 to 9, inclusive, if they are in the lower half of the switchboard, that she can reach only all lines in panels 2 to 8, inclusive, if they are higher in the switchboardand that she can reach only all lines in panels 3 to 7, inclusive, if they are` very near the top 'of the board.

I propose, according to my invention, therefore, to make the line multiples nine panels wide in the lower portion, seven panels wide in a higher portion and five panels wide at the top of the switchboard. In other words'v the lines will be multipled on a nine,l seven or ve-panel basis'depending upon their height in the vswitchboard face. Other arbitrary divisions might also be used without departing from the spirit of the invention.

' In the present instance, therefore, lines numbered 0 to 99 are in the bottom group 15 in panel 1, .the linesj100 to 199 in the bottom group in panel 2, the two hundreds in panel 3, the three hundreds inpanelA, etc., lines 800 to 899 appearing in panel 9. Lines 0 to 899, therefore, form the bottom row in the lirst nine panel multiple A1. In panel 10 the second multiple A2 begins, i..e.,.lines 0 to 99 are repeated. Likewise for the following eight panels,'multiples of' the line groups appearing in panelsf2 to 9,'inclusive, are repeated, after whichin the nineteenth panel lines 0 to 99 may again appear. i

Lines 900 to 999 appear at 17 immediately above the 0'to 99 group in panel 1, the 1000 group' above the 100 group in panel 2, etc., to the 1700 group 85 in panel `9. In panel 10 again the lines are repeated with lines 900 to 999. This arrangement is continued as I go up the panels for-nine 100 line groups, theninth row including lines 7200 to 8099. The complete line multiple A1 is shown enclosed in heavy dot-dash lines as wellY as the portion shown of the second nine panel multi-,- p18 A2.

In the tenth to the fifteenth row from the bottom the lines are multipled on a seven panel basis (multiples B1 and B2). That is, in the iirst panel at 18 appear lines 8100 to 8199, in the second panel lines 8200 to 8299, and so forth to panel 7 at which appear lines 8700 to 8799. In panel 8 the seven panel multiple begins to repeat in multiple B2 with lines 8100 to 8199 again. Lines 8800 .to 8899 appear above group 18 in panel and hence across to line 9499 in panel 7. Likewise for the next four higher panels to line 12299 in panel 7, the fifteenth row from the bottom, the first seven panel multiple B1 and a portionof the second seven panel multiple B2 are alsov shown enclosed in heavy dot-dash lines.

In the top two rows the lines are multipled on a iive panel basis, hence in the sixteenth row 110 from the bottom appear lines 12300 to 12799 and in the seventeenth row lines 12800 to 13299. The rst ve panel multiple C1 is enclosed in heavy dot-dash lines and likewise the second C2.

From the above it can be seen that an operator seated at any position except the first and last has within her reach 13,300.1ines. seatedat position 12, for example, reaches lines 0 to 8099 in multiple A1, that is,rpanels 1 to 9, inclusive. For lines appearing at the left end of the 7200 group or at the right end of the 8000 e group, she may have to extend her reach a little more than is ordinarily necessary. She reaches lines 8100 to 12299 in panels 2 to 8` inclusive,` including the last six panels Vin multiple B1' and thel first panel in multiple B2. She vreaches/lines 12300 to 13299 in panels 3 to '7 inclusive, includ- K ing the last three panels omultiple *C1 and the f iirst two of multiple C2. 3 l

In the usual arrangement for line multiples in a-switchboard, consisting; of equal rectangular multiples, all' the lines inthepresent instance would haveto be multipledvon a seven panel basis approximatelyfifteen rows high in order to be within the operators reach. This would place only 10,500lines within reachof an operator. The capacity of the ,f switchboard, therefore, is increased bythe use of my arrangement; in the present instancefrom 10,500 to 13,300` lines.

`Economies would be eiected by use of my arrangement because it would require less jacks per line to terminate the lineswithin reach Vof all the operators. For example, in the present specific case, disregarding 'any` differences occurringat lthe end operators. positions, it would require an average of 0.43 jacks per operator to terminate a line within reach ofv all the operators with `the usual multiple arrangement while with my arrangement 0.33 jacks per operator would be sufficient.` l

. Although the invention is shown and-described as embodied in certain speciilcI arrangements, applicant does not wish to be limited by such disclosure, but desires to cover broadly, both for multiple and non-multiple switchboards, all arrangements that come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Y

What is claimed is: l y

V1. Ina. telephone switchboard, lines terminat-` ing in multiple appearances in the face of said switchboard, saidl lines terminating in wider multiples ,in the lower part than in the ,upper part of said face. l

, 2, Ina telephone switchboard, lines termi-l nati'ngv in multiple appearances `in the face of said switchboard, the multiple appearances of lines The operator in the lower part of said face recurring less frequently than the multiple appearances of lines vterminating in said switchboard in multiple appearances, .the areaofl one appearance of any l Vsaid group intersecting more panels' than the ,area of.,f an appearance of any group vertically above it. y

5. In atelephone switchboard, a plurality of groups of lines terminating at diierent elevations in the face thereof, the areas of the groups of terminals` higher 'in'the face having vless horizontal extent than the areas of the groupsitermihating lower inthe face. Y e

6. In a telephone switchboardya plurality of lines .terminating in .jacks lin the-face vthereof one jack of each saidline being within an area over which theV jacks are evenly distributed in comprising a group of lines having appearances i' in the switchboard face, one of the appearances for each line being within an rarea over which the appearances are evenly distributed, the horizontal extent of said, area Vbeing greater in the lower part of the switchboard face than in the upper part.

9. Ina multiple switchboard, means toincrease the capacity of said switchboard comprising lines having multiple jacks in the face thereof, the multiple jacks oflines appearing near the top of the switchboard-face recurring at shorter hori-V zontal intervals than the multiple jacks of lines appearing near the base 1 of the switchboard face. v f

STANLEY F. NELSON. 

